Die Sieger

The Invincibles

Karl Simon is the leader of a police SWAT team in Düsseldorf. During a raid on a mafia stronghold, one suspect escapes. But Simon recognises the fleeing man as his former colleague Heinz Schaefer. The latter was said to have committed suicide years earlier after killing his disabled child in an act of desperation. But the search for that "ghost" turns into a dangerous game for Simon and his crew. The people in charge will do whatever it takes to cover up a conspiracy involving politicians and organised crime …

This German variation on the Italian Giallo films had its premiere 25 years ago. For this director's cut, Dominik Graf has added three scenes to his brawny police thriller. The restoration crew at Bavaria Film took the scenes, which had not survived on 35mm, from a videotape of the rough cut, and incorporated them into the original theatrical release version. The challenge was to process the additional scenes to match the high-quality 4K digital material. The audio work required particular attention, since the additional scenes had never been mixed.

Source: 69. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)